


Richard Brook’s A-Z of Life

by oneisforsorrow



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Twins, Brotherly Affection, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Moriarty Twins, Pre-Canon, Twins, moran twins, richard brook focused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-13 10:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3378671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneisforsorrow/pseuds/oneisforsorrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to the life and times of Richard Brook, twin of the most dangerous man in London, featuring rocky sibling relationships, Shakespeare, rabbits and a pair of handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed twins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A is for Acting

The first role he has is as Joseph in the Nativity play, aged four. Much to his annoyance, he doesn’t get an especially fancy costume like the three kings or the angels. That’s partly because his part doesn’t call for an extravagant costume and partly because his mother doesn’t have the time to put it together, like the other mums do. So he’s dressed in just an oversized blue shirt, tied around the middle with a piece of string, his plain school shoes on his feet and a checked tea towel around his head, hiding his mess of black hair.

 

His twin Jim is dressed similarly, but looking far less impressed with the whole situation. He’s forced into being a shepherd and looks like he’s squeezing the life out of his toy sheep as he waits for the damn thing to start. Richard, who is sitting on the other side of the school hall, has his brow furrowed as he goes over his lines one last time in his head.

 

The parents are chattering amongst themselves. Richard and Jim know their mother isn’t there because she’s working. She’s nearly always working, either at the pub or the old people’s home or the place she goes to at night sometimes. She doesn’t tell them where that is.

 

Their music teacher starts up the piano music and they launch into the first hymn. It’s a traditional kind of nativity, the kind you’d expect from a Catholic school, with the added fun of the costumes to make it more enjoyable for the children. Richard doesn’t have any lines to say until after Mary’s scene with Gabriel, which is when he leads her to Bethlehem on the donkey, who is just a boy in a brown shirt and trousers with paper ears on his head. And Mary isn’t on top of him; she and Richard just walk behind.

 

Richard’s part is more or less over by the time they reach the stable. Then it is the turn of the shepherds and the angels and the kings, all of them coming to crowd around the manger – a wooden box contain a doll wrapped in a blanket – to see the baby Jesus. They sing more hymns and the show is over. Richard’s very first play.

 

Their mother, Cara, arrives late to pick them up. When she does come, she’s tired. There are shadows beneath her eyes, which are red and bloodshot. She barely acknowledges Richard as he tells her about the play and is only snapped to her senses when Jim runs across the road suddenly and she has to race out to snatch him out of the way of a speeding car. She shouts at him, smacks his arm hard, but Jim doesn’t cry or even flinch. Richard looks in awe of his brother. He’s so strong and, to Richard, the bravest person in the world.

 

Their home is a tiny two-bed council house and it’s depressing. The paint is peeling off the front door and the windows are grey from never being cleaned. Weeds sprout up everywhere in the garden and between the cracks in the paving stones. It’s not pretty, it’s not inviting, but it’s the only place Richard and Jim have ever felt completely safe.

 

Cara opens the door and her two sons rush inside. They talk while they take off their boots and coats, then start asking questions.

 

“What’s for tea, Mam?” Jim says, with Richard repeating the same question after him.

 

She goes through to the tiny kitchen and roots around for something decent to eat. All she can find is a single can of baked beans. Half the tin each won’t be enough to satisfy her boys’ hunger and she knows that, but there’s nothing she can do. She pours the whole tin out into a pan and begins to heat it up while Richard and Jim go into the living room.

 

The interior of the house hasn’t changed since they moved in. It still has the ugly, faded floral wallpaper and dirty carpet and there’s no money to replace either, or any of the furniture, like the battered old green sofas or the bookshelf that looks like it will come crashing down if you were to add another book to it. Cara knows it’s much better than being homeless, because here they have a roof over their heads and the boys have beds to sleep in. But it’s not enough for her. She wants the world for her boys but can’t give it to them.

 

“I’m never doing another play,” Jim announces, and you can tell he means it by the deadly scowl on his face. Jim certainly did not enjoy the nativity as much as Richard.

 

“But it was amazing!” Richard argues, spinning around and around in the middle of the floor before he topples over onto the sofa beside Jim, giggling. Outside of the house, Richard is quiet as a mouse, always shying away from the world and everybody in it. But here, he will laugh and dance and chatter as much as any extroverted four year old.

 

“No it wasn’t,” Jim says, kicking the backs of his feet against the settee. “I hated it.”

 

Richard looks shocked, but it’s not exactly a surprising thing for Jim to say. Richard knows by now that his brother doesn’t like a lot of things that he does. He doesn’t like toys or the children’s shows they watch on a Sunday morning together. He doesn’t like the playground in the park or drawing pictures. And these are all of Richard’s favourite things. What Jim does like is books, but only a certain kind. He likes the ones with the long words, the diagrams, the pictures of stars and the chemical elements tables. Richard doesn’t understand any of it, not even when Jim tries to explain. Sometimes Richard wonders why he can’t work out what it all means and Jim tells him it’s because he’s not clever. Richard doesn’t mind; he knows Jim wouldn’t be mean to him... right?

 

Cara comes in a few minutes later with two bowls – one with a chip on the rim – filled with the cheap baked beans, now warmed up to a decent temperature. Richard frowns when he sees that his mother doesn’t have any for herself.

 

“Aren’t you having any, Mam?” he asks as he takes his own bowl from her.

She shakes her head. “I’m fine, darling. I’ve already eaten,” she lies smoothly. She ruffles Richard’s hair and smiles at him. He’s such a sweet boy, far too nice for the place in which he lives.

“But thank you for thinking of me, Richie,” she says and kisses his forehead, then Jim’s.

 

The boys are left alone to eat and retreat to their bedroom when their tiny portions are finished with. They guess that their mother is going out tonight, because she’s in her room and has been for a long time. That can only mean she’s getting dressed up.

 

“Want to play a game?” Richard offers. “We could play... eye spy?”

“I don’t want to,” Jim replies, fetching a book from beneath his bed.

“Oh, okay... we could draw pictures?”

“I told you, I don’t want to, Richie!” Jim snaps this time, looking fiercely angry at Richard, who shies away from him.

“Sorry, Jimmy,” he whispered.

 

After that, Jim doesn’t speak to him. Not a word. Richard has to entertain himself and does so by talking to his trusted teddy bear. But a one-sided conversation can only last so long and soon teddy in abandoned in favour of Richard’s book of fairytales. Jim’s attention is caught by this and he looks up.

 

“Can you read me one?” Jim asks quietly.

 

These are the only stories Jim ever wants to hear or read. Richard can’t figure out why, because Jim is so obsessed with facts and real things, and fairytales couldn’t be further from that. But he doesn’t question his brother.

 

“I can’t read all the proper words,” Richard says. “But I can show you the pictures and tell you what’s happening.”

Jim nods and Richard opens the book, settling on Cinderella.

“There’s a girl and she has to look after her mean step-mother and step-sisters,” Richard begins, pointing out the picture of poor Cinderella in her rags.

“They’re horrible to her and won’t let her go to the ball at the palace.”

Richard speaks with simple language, but Jim seems to be as interested as he would be listening to the world’s finest storyteller.

“But her Fairy Godmother appears and says, ‘You shall go to the ball, Cinderella!’”

Jim giggles as Richard delivers the line.

“And she uses her magic to make Cinderella a beautiful dress and turns a pumpkin into a carriage for her to get to the ball! But she tells Cinderella that the magic will only last until midnight.”

“Why only until midnight?” Jim asks with a frown. “If she’s magic, why can’t she make the dress and the carriage stay that way as long as she likes?”

Richard doesn’t know how to answer him. He doesn’t have the answers. He only has what the story and the pictures tell him.

“Uh... she’s not a very powerful fairy. So her magic can’t last very long,” Richard says, deciding that this is a reasonable reason why. And Jim seems satisfied, so Richard continues.

“Cinderella goes to the ball and the prince thinks she’s so beautiful that he dances with her all night long. But the clock strikes midnight and she has to run away as fast as she can otherwise her dress will turn into rags again. She doesn’t even tell the prince her name.”

“That’s stupid,” Jim mumbles.

 

Richard carries on with his story, speaking fluently all the way through and smiling as he finishes.

 

“And the prince and the princess got married and they live happily ever after.”

 

He shuts the book and tucks it back in its place in the little bookshelf they have. Jim doesn’t look happy and Richard asks him why he’s sad.

 

“Stories always have stupid endings,” he says. “Nobody lives happily ever after. Because bad things happen to people.”

“Don’t say that, Jimmy.”

“It’s true! People get hurt and die. Or everybody else around them gets hurt and die. Then we’re left all alone!”

 

And it’s then that Richard knows his brother is talking about their dad. They never speak about him, but they know what happened. They know a man stuck a knife in him and their father was found a day later in a pool of his own blood. It was all anybody on the estate talked about for a month and, while they tried to keep ‘adult conversations’ private, the boys managed to pick up on all the main details.

 

“You’re not alone. You’ve got me...” Richard says. And after that, Jim won’t talk anymore.

 

They get ready for bed on their own, because their mother goes out and says she’ll be late back. Nobody comes to babysit them, to see that they’re okay. But they’re used to that. They’re used to being on their own.

 

Once their teeth are brushed and pyjamas that are too big for them cover their bodies, they both get into Jim’s bed. That’s how they sleep most nights, with the two of them cuddled up in one bed together. The temperature in the house drops overnight and they need each other’s body heat to keep warm. It doesn’t help completely; they’re still shivering as they hold each other, but it’s better than nothing.

 

“Jimmy?” Richard whispers in the dark, only to be answered by the sound of Jim’s sharp breaths. But that doesn’t deter Richard.

“Do you think I might get to dance with a prince one day?”

Once again, Jim stays silent. Richard knows his eyes aren’t closed, even though he faces away from him.

“I hope I do...”

 

Richard yawns, snuggles deeper down beneath the covers and promptly falls asleep.

 

 

 

 

\--


	2. B is for Best Friends

Richard is terrified to start school this year. Jim isn’t coming with him. He’s going to a special school instead, where he can be challenged intellectually. His IQ is too high for him to be stuck in Year 2 with the other six and seven year olds, learning basic arithmetic. So, for the first time in his life, Richard is alone when he walks into his new classroom.

 

It’s a cheery looking place, but with fewer toys than his Year 1 class. And there are lots of displays on the walls that he doesn’t stand with words he can’t read yet.

 

Some of the other children are already sitting at their desks. His new teacher, Miss Harrison, tells him to go and choose a seat. Normally, he’d let Jim choose their seats. They would always sit next to each other and nobody would stop them. But now Richard had no idea where to go.

 

In the end, he picks a place at the very back of the classroom, on a table where nobody else is sitting yet. As the kids come in, they fill in the seats at the front and it is only those who come late that have to sit on the same table as Richard. Amongst those is a pair of twin boys, both with blue eyes and spiked blond hair. That shocks Richard because he’s never met another person with a twin before. And he’s never seen these two boys before.

 

Miss Harrison first introduces herself and then asks everybody in the classroom to give their names. Richard says his so quietly that he has to repeat himself. The blond boys say their names are Sebastian and Severin. Severin smiles at Richard, who smiles back timidly, but they don’t say anything to each other for the rest of the lesson.

 

When they are finally let out for break, Richard tries to hang back. He doesn’t want to go out there and play without Jim there. He hasn’t got any friends beside his brother. But his teacher insists that he goes out and leads him into the playground.

 

For a moment, he just stands there, trying to think of what to do. Normally, he and Jim would go and sit near the bushes and talk about things that only they knew about. But now, there was nobody for him to whisper his secrets to.

 

“Your name is Richard,” says a voice behind him and Richard turns. It’s Severin, with a grin on his face and mud on the knees of his trousers.

Richard nods and Severin sticks out a hand. “I’m Rin,” he says.

“Rin...”

“That’s right. Do ya’ wanna come and play football with us?” he asks, pointing over at the game that is taking place on the grass. Richard figures that that is how he got his trousers muddy.

“No, t-thank you,” Richard replies, stammering like he always does when he talks to a stranger.

Severin looks a little bit disappointed. “Don’t you like football?”

Richard shakes his head.

“Okay. Do ya’ want to play somethin’ else instead?”

Richard wasn’t expecting that. Nobody has ever asked him to play with them before, apart from Jim.

“I... I don’t really like playing games,” he says shyly. “I like talking about secrets.”

“Secrets?”

“Me and Jimmy used to talk about our secrets all the time.”

“Who’s Jimmy?”

“My brother. He’s my twin.”

Severin grins again. When he smiles like that, Richard can see the gaps in his mouth where his baby teeth have fallen out and where the new ones are growing in.

“I’ve got a twin! He’s over there,” Severin says, pointing Sebastian out. “We don’t really talk about secrets though...”

Richard glances over at Sebastian, who has possession of the old football and is dribbling it across the grass.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” Richard says, switching his gaze back to Severin.

“We moved here in the summer,” Severin explains. “Our dad got a new job here.”

“Oh.”

“Your voice is funny,” the blond boy points out and Richard shrugs.

“My Mam is from Dublin. We moved here when I was three.”

Severin looks confused, obviously not knowing where Dublin is, until Richard adds, “It’s a city in Ireland.”

 

The rest of their break time is spent learning new things about each other. They find a spot on the grass, away from the other kids and just chat. Well, Severin does most of the actual talking. It seems he always has something to say and Richard doesn’t mind, because he likes to just listen. And Severin is a very interesting person.

 

“My new house is really big. It’s got four bedrooms! And there’s just my mum, my dad and me and Seb!” Severin tells him. Richard can’t even imagine having a house that large.

 

The bell rings and they know it’s time to return to their classroom. Richard stays close by Severin as they walk with all the other kids back inside the building.

 

-

 

After their first day, Richard and Severin spend most of their time together. Sebastian also becomes a friend of Richard, as he likes to tag along with his brother. It’s unusual for Richard to actually have friends, because up until he met the Moran twins the only person he had was Jim.

 

Jim seems to be more and more distant from him. Richard doesn’t know or understand what Jim learns in his special school – the one he had to take a test to get into – but he does know that Jim gets a lot of homework. Sometimes, Richard asks if there’s anything he can help with, but Jim simply snaps at him and tells him he wouldn’t know what to do. And Richard knows that he’s probably right.

 

Even though they appear to be growing apart, Jim and Richard still cuddle up in the same bed together every night. Sometimes Jim will trace his fingers along the lines of Richard’s bones and sometimes Richard will stroke his brother’s hair. That always seems to calm him. And he still reads Jim fairytales, which are better now that he can actually read most of the words.

 

-

 

For Christmas, Richard draws each of his three friends a picture. He feels rather silly handing over the piece of paper to Severin when the other boy has a proper present for him, wrapped up in shiny paper.

 

“This is a great drawing, Richie!” Severin says as he admires it. Richard doesn’t know if he’s really impressed with it or whether he’s just faking it to save Richard’s feelings.

Richard carefully opens up his little gift, trying his hardest not to rip too much of the wrapping paper. He wants to keep it because it’s so pretty.

Inside is a tiny book, entitled ‘Peter Rabbit’, with a drawing of a rabbit in a blue coat on the front.

“I know you like rabbits,” Severin explains, opening the book for Richard to show him some of the pictures inside. And Richard smiles because, yes, he loves rabbits and he’s so glad that Severin remembered that.

“Thank you, Rin,” he says softly, feeling overwhelmingly happy for perhaps the first time in his life. He’s never had a present as nice as this before. It’s just a book, but Severin put so much thought into it.

 

So Richard hugs him. He’s not sure if it’s the right thing to do, because they’re in the middle of the playground with all the other children around them. He doesn’t want Severin to feel embarrassed. But Severin hugs him back and into his ear whispers, “You’re welcome, Richie.”

 

 

 

 

\--


	3. C is for Crisis

It takes Richard a few months to build up the courage to invite Severin and Sebastian to his house. Even at the young age of seven, he’s fully aware of how he differs in class from his two friends. They’re rich, with two well-educated parents and everything they own, from their clothes to their toys, is shiny and new. Richard comes from a completely different world. What if seeing his home scares them off?

 

By now, his mother has stopped taking him to and from school, so he and Severin and Sebastian walk home by themselves. Severin talks to Richard and Richard listens, while Sebastian trudges on ahead, kicking stones as he goes. Sebastian is moodier than his brother and seems to prefer time alone than with other people. In fact, he reminds Richard of Jim.

 

The Morans look uneasy when they first step onto Richard’s street as they see that most of the houses look rather dilapidated. They’re not used to places like this. But Richard doesn’t notice and shows them to his house, knocking twice before hi s mother answers. She looks exhausted and pale, with wide manic eyes and creases in her forehead. Even so, she smiles and welcomes them in.

 

Richard watches as Severin and Sebastian take off their shoes and then he invites them up to his and Jim’s bedroom. His twin is already there, because his school lets out an hour earlier than Richard’s does on a Friday. He looks up and seems rather startled when he sees three boys standing there instead of just one.

 

“Jimmy, these are my friends Severin and Sebastian,” Richard says, pointing to each of them. “And this is Jim, my twin.”

Jim eyes the Morans suspiciously before returning to the large textbook he’s reading.

 

Richard sits down on his own bed, crossing his legs. Severin does the same and then they all realise there isn’t quite enough space left on Richard’s bed for them all to sit comfortable, so Sebastian goes to sit awkwardly on the edge of Jim’s bed. Neither of them looks happy with that, but they exchange eye contact that seems to be a kind of silent agreement to ignore each other.

 

Richard begins to babble, showing Severin and Sebastian some of his toys including his favourite red car which he gives to Sebastian to play with. Soon they hear the front door slam and Richard knows that his mother has gone out for the night.

 

“We can go and play downstairs now,” he says.

 

Once in the living room, Richard suggests a game of pirates, which involves the sofa cushions being ships and the carpet being the sea. Sebastian decides to be a shark and Severin is Captain Richard’s First Mate. The whole thing ends with them all in fits of giggles.

 

Richard doesn’t want the evening to end, but Sebastian eventually points out that they have to be back at home before seven. So, reluctantly, they tidy up the room and say their goodbyes. And for Severin and Richard, that means a long hug.

 

Once they’re gone, Richard heads through to the kitchen to rustle up something to eat. He finds some slightly stale bread and a packet of digestive biscuits, which should settle their hunger for the moment. He fills two glasses of water and carries everything carefully upstairs.

 

When he gets up to his bedroom, he sees that Jim’s eyes are red. Has he been crying? That’s not like Jim at all. Richard doesn’t say anything and just hands over the bread and biscuits.

 

“You can have as much as you like,” he says with a small smile. “I’ll just have whatever you don’t eat.”

 

Jim barely touches the food. He has a single slice of bread and two biscuits, before downing his glass of water in one and returning to his book. Richard eats three times the amount that Jim did, but he still feels horribly empty.

 

The rest of their evening is spent in silence. They both read until eight thirty and then Jim comes into Richard’s bed. The light is turned off and they sleep. And sleep. And sleep.

 

 

The next morning, Richard finds himself waking up feeling completely refreshed. That’s strange for him, because the early time of school normally means he’s woken up long before this by his mother.

 

But their mother isn’t there.

 

Richard checks her bedroom while Jim tries downstairs. She’s nowhere to be found.

 

That’s when Richard starts to panic. She’s never been gone all night before. She’s always there to wake them up, make sure they have all there uniform ready and that they’ve brushed their teeth and had a slice of toast before they leave the house.

 

He curls up in a ball on her bed as he struggles to breath while his heart pounds and his head spins. Where is she? Where is she?

 

“We’ve missed school,” Jim says as he comes in. “I had a test today...”

 

Richard can’t reply. He can’t speak. He can’t even think straight. There’s somebody rubbing his back now soothingly but he doesn’t seem to have the sense right then to realize it’s just Jim.

“Don’t touch me!” he screams and Jim backs off.

“She’ll be back.”

“She won’t! She’s gone, gone, GONE!”

 

And Richard is the one who is right. She doesn’t come back at all that day. Richard eventually calms down, but still weeps throughout the day. Jim stays silent and his expression blank.

 

The phone rings twice. Jim says that it’s their schools trying to get in contact to find out where they are. But they don’t answer. Jim doesn’t want anybody to know they’ve been left alone.

 

By the time their bedtime comes around, she’s still not back. Even Jim is starting to worry now.

 

Then there’s a ring at the door.

 

“Mama!” Richard cries and bolts from the bedroom, going straight to the door.

 

But it isn’t their mother.

It’s a policeman.

 

“Does Cara Moriarty live here?” he asks and Richard nods timidly.

“You and your brother need to come with me,” he says. Richard doesn’t move for a moment. The policeman rather scares him and fresh tears well up in his eyes.

“Don’t worry,” the policeman says with a friendly smile. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

 

But he’s lying. The worst thing that could possibly happen happens.

 

They find out that their mother has died.

 

 

 

 

\--


	4. D is for Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies about the shortness of this chapter, but I have family staying and I'm struggling to find time to write. 
> 
> Trigger warning for the mention of drug overdose

Nobody really tells them what’s going on. All Richard and Jim know is that she’s died and they’re not going to her funeral. Apparently they’re too young and it would be upsetting. But of Richard is already upset, quietly sobbing into his hands which he holds over his face. Jim is silent.

 

They’re taken home to gather their possessions. The policewoman who accompanies them asks if there are any photos of their mother they want to take with them. _Take where?_ Richard thinks. But there are no pictures of her in the house. The only one Richard knows about is in her passport and he has no idea where that is. Besides, she isn’t smiling in that photo.

 

Then again... when did he ever really see her smile?

 

He packs his little suitcase with his few possessions. In goes his teddy bear, his book of fairytales and the Peter Rabbit book Severin gave him. He fits in his red toy car and then remembers he has to get all his clothes in there too. So he folds his uniform and his t-shirts and his trousers and his pyjamas the best he can and closes it up with help from the police lady. Jim has even fewer things than Richard does so he doesn’t need any assistance. He just has his science books.

 

They leave the house and Richard knows this is the last time he’ll be here. He waves out the window of the car as he watches his shabby little house disappear from sight.

 

“I’m taking you to a care home,” the officer explains while they drive. “There’ll be other children there and people will look after you. There’s no need to worry.”

 

When adults say that he shouldn’t worry, Richard only worries more. He’s come not to trust grownups because they lie.

 

Richard tries talking to Jim during the journey, but, as usual, his twin isn’t speaking. Richard has no idea what’s going on in his brother’s head and he wishes he did. Jim is an enigma, a puzzle. And Richard has never been that good at puzzles.

 

So instead he looks out the window. The houses they pass are nice ones, with neat gardens and shiny cars parked in the driveways. It’s a world away from what Richard knows. He sees a woman pushing a pram. And another holding hands with her small daughter. And another walking beside her husband as their children race ahead. Richard eyes well up with tears and despite his efforts to blink them away they still begin to trickle down his cheeks.

 

When his silent crying stops, he glances over at Jim. He’s staring down at his hands in his lap, looking deep in thought.

“Why did Mam die?” he asks quietly and at first Richard thinks he’s talking to him. _I don’t know, Jim. I don’t know why she died. I don’t have the answers. I’m sorry._

“People just die sometimes, sweetheart,” says the police woman. “It’s a very sad part of life. But your mother is in a good place now.”

 

Richard knows she’s talking about Heaven. He’s been taught that good people go to Heaven when they die. Was his mother a good person? He thinks so. She was kind, even if she left them alone a lot and shouted sometimes.

 

“What happened to her?” Jim’s asking questions again and Richard doesn’t want to know what the answers are. He covers his ears but he can still hear.

“She... took lots of something that made her unwell.” Even Richard knows that she’s skirting around the truth here.

“Drugs...” Jim mumbles.

The policewoman sighs. “Yes, she took drugs. I’m very sorry, boys.”

 

Richard doesn’t understand as well as Jim seems to. Perhaps his brother will explain it to him later if he asks. Or maybe he’ll just stay silent and Richard will have to wait until he finds out for himself.

 

Long after that conversation is finished, the car comes slowly to a stop.

 

“Boys, this is where you’ll be living, at least for a little while.”

 

Richard peers out the window. It’s a big redbrick building, three stories high. The front door has a rainbow painted on it and bright red potted flowers sit on the steps leading up to it. And a sign above it reads ‘ _Evergreen Care Home for Children_ ’.

 

 

 

 

 

\--

 


	5. E is for Evergreen House

Richard is surprised at how sunny and cheerful the place looks. He’s heard of care homes, but has always expected them to be like children’s prisons. Evergreen certainly doesn’t look like a prison.

 

As they get out of the car, a middle aged woman in a long green skirt comes down the path towards them, a beaming smile on her face. Richard can’t work out if that’s a fake smile or not. At least she looks kind, he thinks.

 

“James and Richard,” she says. “Who is who?”

 

Richard is looking down at his feet, not particularly wanting to speak to anybody. He wants to go home; he wants to see his mother. Neither is possible.

 

“I’m Jim,” his twin says, gazing at green skirt lady with a blank stare. The woman’s smile drops a little bit. Jim has a habit of making grownups uncomfortable with his empty expression and dead dark eyes.

 

“So you must be Richard. I’m Claire,” she says. Richard doesn’t reply, doesn’t look up. The only time he does is when the policewoman tells them she’s going to get their cases out of the back of the car. Within a couple of minutes, Richard’s bag of belongings is by his feet and the police officer is gone, after having exchanged a few polite words with Claire.

 

“This is Evergreen House,” Claire says as they walk back up the back, Richard and Jim pulling their small suitcases behind them. “Don’t worry; it’s a really nice place to live.”

 

There was that ‘don’t worry’ again.

 

When they step through the front door they are greeted by the sound of kids yelling. A minute later, two small boys come barrelling into the foyer, each grasping a plastic plane in their hands, making overdramatized _zoom_ and _whoooosh_ noises. Claire calls after them as they dart up the stairs, warning them they’ll get no pudding at dinner if they don’t stop running indoors. At the thought of missing out on their dessert, both boys slow down.

 

“That’s Jake and Peter. I’m always telling them off!” Claire chuckles in a fond way, turning to her left to open a door, with a sign that reads ‘Office’.

 

Inside, there are four chairs placed in a semi-circle in front of a wooden desk which has pens and papers scattered all over it. A collection of battered up filing cabinets stand just behind the desk chair; the contents of some of the drawers peeking out due to them being so full.

 

“Sit down, boys,” says Claire, taking her place in the chair behind the desk while Jim and Richard settle into two of the seats in front of her.

 

“This must be all very strange and scary for you. But I promise you’re going to like it here very much.”

 

Jim looks sceptical. Richard looks concerned.

 

Claire begins to explain their situation to them. They’re going to be in the home until foster parents can be found for them. She assures them that won’t be long and Richard hopes she’s telling the truth. She asks them some questions, inputs information into the computer and then tells them about the home itself, about the mealtimes and house rules.

 

“You’ve got your own bedroom with bunks, so you’ll have to decide who goes on the top and who goes on the bottom.”

 

Richard and Jim don’t even need to have that conversation. They both know Richard doesn’t like being up high and that Jim likes his privacy, which is something a top bunk can provide.

 

“I’ll come and show you,” she says, getting up and heading towards the door with the twins following straight afterwards.

 

She takes a detour and shows them the whole of the ground floor first, including the games room, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, the 1-to-1 room for private meetings between children and staff or any other visitors, the laundry room and finishes by taking them out into the spacious garden that is littered with kids toys.

 

After all of this, they are led up the stairs and to the room they’ll be sharing. It’s big; the room is about the size of their old bedroom, but it feels a lot more spacious because the two beds are stacked on top of each other rather than against either wall. The walls are all painted white with large stickers of jungle animals scattered all over. The cream carpet isn’t dirty though Richard can tell it used to be a much lighter colour and there’s a piece of dried up chewing gum mashed into it just by his feet.

 

“I’ll leave you for a while to unpack,” Claire tells them.  “Come down when you’re ready and you can meet some of the other children.” Richard really doesn’t like the sound of that.

 

Once Claire leaves, Jim and Richard open up their cases and start to put away their few possessions into the drawers and onto the shelves they have available to them. Richard carefully tucks his books beside Jim’s heavy textbooks and folds away all his clothes. Even with everything unpacked and his teddy on his bed the room still doesn’t feel the way their old one did. He misses home.

 

“We’re going to be here for a long time,” Jim sighs, dangling his legs down from the top bunk which he has climbed up to. “Foster parents don’t want kids like us. Well, maybe they’ll want you, but they won’t want me.”

 

“Why wouldn’t they want you?” Richard asks, feeling hurt on his brother’s behalf.

“I’m not cute like you are and my brain isn’t normal.”

“Yes it is! You’re smart, much smarter than me!”

“People don’t understand, Richie. They’re all too slow.”

“Oh.”

Jim can detect the hurt in Richard’s voice and clambers down to hug his twin.

“You understand me. You’re the only one. Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t! I’d never leave you!”

“Good.”

 

There’s a pause between them until Jim says, “We should go downstairs.”

 

Without really intending to, Richard shakes his head slightly. “I-I...”

 

“It’ll be fine. You don’t have to talk to any of them. We’re better than all of them, so you shouldn’t be afraid of them.”

 

Richard wishes he could be as confident in himself as Jim always appeared to be. The problem was that Richard didn’t see himself as superior in the slightest. If anything, he was usually the weakling amongst a pack.

 

Jim takes his hand and pulls him out the door before Richard can protest. They go downstairs and into Claire’s office.

 

“You need to knock before you come in,” she reminds them, but doesn’t scold or punish them seeing as it’s their first time. “Would you like to meet the other children?”

 

Jim nods. Richard doesn’t say or do anything.

 

Everybody present in the house at that time is called to the dining room. Jim and Richard have already sat down when they come in, one or two at a time, some chatting, and settle into seats around the long table. Claire stands just behind the twins.

 

“Everybody, I’d like you to say a friendly hello to Jim and Richard," she announces, pointing each of them out so the kids knew which name belongs to which boy.

 

Richard stares around at the faces around the table. Some of them are smiling and welcome, others wary and untrusting, with one or two scowling at them. This doesn’t fill Richard with much confidence.

 

“I want everybody to tell Jim and Richard their name and a fact about themselves. You first, Harry.”

 

Harry is the boy closest to the door with long, chestnut brown hair falling into his eyes. He pushes some of it aside and clears his throat, obviously a little nervous.

 

“I’m Harry and I’m seven.”

 

“Jim and Richard are both seven, aren’t you, boys?” Claire pipes up, giving the twins and Harry a beaming smile.

 

Next comes Jake, who is about a head shorter than Richard and Jim. He states that he likes dinosaurs. Ginger haired Peter also says he likes dinosaurs. Rosie, who is the tallest and oldest looking of all of them, says that her favourite lesson at school is art. Another older girl called Polly says she has a boyfriend called Lucas and a few of the boys laugh and one of them whistles, which earns the boy in question a shove from Polly.

 

It carries on until every one of the fifteen or so children have said something.

 

“Jim and Richard, would you like to tell us a fact about yourselves as well?” Claire suggests.

 

“I like space,” Jim says tonelessly, not sounding as enthusiastic about the topic as Richard knows he is. Perhaps it is because Jim simply doesn’t care about what these other people think about him or his interests.

 

All eyes are on Richard now and his heart begins to thump. He only has to get a handful of words out, but with everybody staring at him he begins to really feel pressured. Finally, he says something, in the quietest whisper, “I love rabbits.”

 

“What did he say?”

“I couldn’t hear him.”

“Did he say something about glove hit? What’s that?”

 

A man steps into the room and silences their chatter with a wave of his hand. He’s tall and wide, with a round stomach and a thin brown beard. And he’s smiling at Jim and Richard.

 

“You must be our new boys!” he grins, walking over to them and extending a hand. “I’m Gary. I’ll be around most of the time, so if you need me, give me a shout.”

 

“We also have two other staff members, Lucy and Rob, but they’re out on errands at the moment. They should be back soon,” Claire says.

 

It’s all too much information for Richard to take in at once. Too many people. They’re talking and they’re laughing, rustling clothes and squeaking shoes, breathing and sniffing and coughing and...

 

Richard runs out of the room, tears pricking his eyes. He hears feet coming after him and he doesn’t stop. He keeps going until he’s up the stairs and he’s locked himself in the bathroom.

 

“Richard?” It’s Jim. “You can’t lock yourself in there.”

 

“Yes I can!” Richard protests, water streaming down his face now. Too many people, too many faces, too many voices.

 

He hears another set of footsteps outside the door. “Richard? Buddy, are you okay?” That’s Gary’s voice, gentle and concerned. “I know it’s probably really scary. I was scared when I first came to work here! But everybody will be very nice to you, I can promise you that. And we’re having pizza for tea; you have to come down for that! There’s chocolate cake for pudding!”

 

That’s enough to make Richard unbolt the door and step out, quickly wiping away the tears on his face, leaving his eyes red and puffy around the edges.

 

“Don’t worry, Richard,” Jim whispers as he wraps his arms around Richard and hugs him.

 

Richard can trust Jim’s ‘don’t worry’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the lack of updates recently! My circumstances have changed recently which will probably allow me to update this more!


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